Friday, June 29, 2018

Thank you to the wonderful staff and terrific students throughout the Robbinsdale Area School District for welcoming me into your classrooms and buildings; first through the SEE (Schools for Energy Efficiency) program for four years and then these past two years with an independent GREEN Initiative (Getting Robbinsdale Energy Efficient Now).

Please continue to be good stewards of our energy resources and keep modeling energy efficient behavior wherever you go. It has been a pleasure to serve you these past six years. I will leave you with a quote from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which is more timely than ever.

Monday, June 25, 2018

Using recycled aluminum scrap to
make aluminum cans uses how much less energy than making new aluminum cans from
scratch?

25% 48% 79% 95%

Scroll down to check your answer...

According to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration, using recycled aluminum to make cans uses 95
percent less energy than making new ones from bauxite ore, the raw material
used to make aluminum. Recycling can
make a difference with regard to inputs for other manufacturing processes, as
well. Making a ton of paper from recycled paper, for instance, saves up to 17
trees and uses 50 percent less water.

Friday, June 22, 2018

It's that time of year again, time to bust the myth about running fans in the summer.

In a recent article on the website Off the Grid News, several
energy myths were listed and busted. One in particular stood out because some
people I know (one of my sons specifically) will leave fans running in
unoccupied areas ALL the time.

MYTH: Leaving fans on in summer
when you leave the house is a good way to keep rooms cool. After all, if you
allow your home to heat up while you are away, you will have to use extra
energy to cool it down again once you return.

This is not true –
fans move the air, but they don’t really cool it, and leaving them on when no
one is around is a waste of energy and money. There are a few
exceptions like when controlling humidity during the summer by drawing cool air
from an underground area to prevent mold.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

By replacing your five most frequently used
light bulbs with models that have earned the ENERGY STAR label, you can
save more than $60 a year in energy costs. Just imagine the savings if you
swapped out most or ALL of your light bulbs for energy efficient ones!Additionally, if every home in America changed their five most frequently used
light bulbs with those that have earned the ENERGY STAR label, we would prevent
greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than eight million cars.
Wow, that is eliminating a lot of pollutants! Check out the huge variety of LED bulbs available at your local hardware store, so many options!

About Me

I have been working in the energy industry since early 2010, first in Prior Lake-Savage Area schools as the Energy Efficiency Coordinator for ISD 719. After three successful years, the SEE program came to a close with over a quarter million dollars in energy savings achieved. I have been with Robbinsdale Area Schools since the spring of 2012 and had four successful years facilitating the SEE program in ISD 281 with close to a half million dollars in energy savings achieved. In the summer of 2016, the Schools for Energy Efficiency program ended but my role as EEC will continue throughout the upcoming school year. I thoroughly enjoy the energy efficiency field and am excited to be able to continue to share my passion with the staff and students in Robbinsdale, New Hope, Plymouth, Crystal and beyond.